Trying to silence opposition not spirit of democracy

The controversy cooked up by Chick-fil-A reminds us once again that when it comes to rights, many Americans get it wrong.

Ruben Navarrette

The controversy cooked up by Chick-fil-A reminds us once again that when it comes to rights, many Americans get it wrong.

Some claim to care a lot about rights - but only if we're talking about their own and no one else's. When one exercises his right to free speech or political participation in ways his opponents don't approve of, they maintain the prerogative to punish him until he falls back in line. And if you disagree with their tactics, they might just decide that it's you who needs to be punished - even if you're an ally who normally agrees with them.

It's no way to make friends, and there are better ways to build support for your cause. It happens all across the political spectrum. Yet, it's especially ironic coming from liberals who have tried over the years to brand themselves as more tolerant than the conservatives whose views they now try to silence.

The latest target is Dan Cathy. In an interview with the Baptist Press, the president of the Chick-fil-A chain of restaurants said:

"We are very much supportive of the family - the biblical definition of the family. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that. ... We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles."

Cathy also said the company was "guilty as charged" for supporting "the biblical definition of the family unit." The support includes several million dollars in contributions that the Cathy Family Foundation has made to conservative organizations that oppose same-sex marriage.

Supporters of same-sex marriage were incensed. It's hard to know whether what set them off was Cathy's support for traditional marriage or the fact he based it in his religious beliefs. It might also have been his outspokenness.

Instead of walking back his comments, Cathy later doubled down during a radio interview.

"I think we are inviting God's judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at Him and say, 'We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage,' " he said.

It wasn't God's judgment that Cathy had to worry about. Pro-gay-marriage activists called for a boycott of the Atlanta-based chain's 1,600 restaurants.

Meanwhile, Democratic politicians thought they'd ride this issue into the good graces of an increasingly vocal and powerful constituency that remembers its friends in addition to punishing its enemies.

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino wrote Cathy a letter in which he said: "There is no place for discrimination on Boston's Freedom Trail and no place for your company alongside it."

So now, there is no discrimination in Boston? This will come as news to many Latinos and blacks who have long complained that they've been denied equal opportunity there, especially in the city's police and fire departments.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel voiced support for a campaign by an alderman to block a Chick-fil-A planned for his district. "Chick-fil-A values are not Chicago values," Emanuel said.

What values are those? Free speech? The right to give money to whatever groups you'd like to support? Those things aren't popular in Chicago? And can we assume that every resident of the Windy City supports same-sex marriage?

I support same-sex marriage. I haven't always, but I've come around over the years thanks to coaxing from family and friends. Civil unions are no substitute for marriage equality.

Political expediency is also no substitute for courage. Politicians who rake in millions of dollars of contributions from gay and lesbian supporters but then support legislation such as the Defense of Marriage Act should be ashamed.

At the top of this list is Bill Clinton, who signed the bill into law in 1996. Guess who was one of Clinton's senior advisers at the time? Rahm Emanuel.

Let's talk about rights.

Cathy has the right to say what he said, and Chick-fil-A has the right to fund groups that oppose gay marriage. And people have same-sex right to show support by patronizing the business.

On the other side, supporters of same-sex marriage have the right to criticize Cathy, boycott his company and urge others not to buy its products.

But neither camp has the right to try to short-circuit an important debate by trying to silence the other side.

As for two-faced and opportunistic politicians, they have the right to their hypocrisy.